


No Pets Allowed

by SisterWine



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-09
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-04-13 19:10:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4533795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SisterWine/pseuds/SisterWine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Benson and Stabler have a hard time figuring out what caused an up and coming judge to be murdered in the most sadistic of ways.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Police sirens wailed as they drove down the posh, upper east side street. Detective Elliot Stabler and his partner, Detective Olivia Benson, pulled up alongside a parked cruiser and looked around the scene. Elliot cut the engine and opened his door. Getting out and spotting a homicide detective, he shouted, "hey, someone call us?" He looked to his partner over the top of the car and shut his door before walking around the front and stopping in front of the young Italian detective.

Olivia Benson shoved her hands into her long, black downe coat and walked around to join her partner with the detective. "What happened here?" She glanced around at the crowd that was now lining the small street, and then up to stare at the roped off building behind them. Her brown ponytail swung heavily and made a screeching sound on the back of her coat as she turned her head. She shivered in the cold and her ears rang with the frozen breeze that swept between them. It was too early to be called out to investigate a murder, especially in late October.

"Woman murdered in her fifth floor apartment. Landlord found her." Short black hair with a boyish face concealed his twelve years that he had been with the Homicide Unit. Detective Mark Voorhies stared at the two uniformed officers that stood on the steps to the building and compared gruesome notes of the scene. The thirty-seven year old blinked back to Benson and Stabler as they had begun to walk towards the police tape. His voice hadn't shook in ten years from looking at grueling discoveries, but this was certainly a reminder. Standing 5 foot 8 inches tall, he lead the way up the stairs and past the guards, answering small questions of the other detectives. "Apartment 1423. Such a shame that this had to happen to one of our upscale business women but, I guess murder doesn't have a preference."

Elliot followed Olivia and looked up as Voorhies was a few steps in front of Benson. "Why call us in? Homicide's your case."

Voorhies paused in front of the apartment door, to the left of the staircase. He turned and looked at Stabler with a grave expression before knocking on the door for entrance. "Homicide's one thing, what's inside and how she died is another." Stepping aside and letting the two SVU detectives through, Mark watched their reactions carefully. "Shocking isn't it?" Closing the door behind him, Voorhies took out his small flip pad and scanned his notes, reading the details aloud. "Tanya George, 34, on her way to becoming a very prominent juvenile court judge. She obviously had more than the law on her mind, after office hours." The detective walked up to stand beside Stabler and take in the scene for the third time since he had arrived.

Placing a hand over his mouth, Elliot felt sick. "Coroner declare time of death?" Without getting too close to the body, he looked closely at the details.

"Coroner isn't here yet. We're guessing she's been like that for a few hours. Blood settled in her fingertips, they've started to swell." Voorhies checked his notes and what time he had arrived on the scene. He had been there for the past four hours. "Crime Scene took lotsa pics, but we're waiting for her roommate to get home from vacation. We had an officer go and collect her from the airport."

Tanya had been wearing a black leather bondage outfit with a zippered crotch that was left open with the handle of a bullwhip firmly embedded in her anus and a dead 5 foot long bull snake hanging from her vagina. The head of the snake had been completely engorged in the vaginal cavity and Elliot found himself swallowing hard as he bent in for a closer look. Her mouth had been gagged with a small red ball and her wrists and ankles had been cuffed to each leg of the small butcher's block she was bent over. Long blonde hair had covered her face and a pool of blood collected below it from a deep cut on her throat.

"Whoever said sex wasn't kinky in leather." Olivia turned away and looked around the rest of the plush apartment. As the body had been displayed in the livingroom, Benson took in what was around them. "Sofa's set up like there was something to watch in this. And look," walking over to the far right side of the long white sofa that sat between them and the front door, she glanced at a crystal champagne glass, "someone else was here with her. Fluid inside looks kind of thick for milk. Perhaps Warner can tell us who this belonged to." Turning back to look at the body from another angle, she noticed something in Tanya's right hand. "Elliot, she's holding something. Might belong to the killer."

Stabler stepped forward, reaching into his jacket pocket to retireve a glove, and knelt down to pull the small material from the hand. Holding it up to his partner, he stared at it. "It's a dog collar. Name says 'Princess'. Did your men find and animal around here?" Elliot handed the collar and the latex glove he used to pick it up with to Olivia while he turned back to face Voorhies.

Laughing eerily at the question, Voorhies stopped and turned toward the kitchen, to the left of the front door. "More like several animals but we haven't found them. Four food and water dishes lined up along the partisian wall, each with animal names, yet nothing to suggest there's any kind of animal living here. No cat hair, no dog hair, no hampster hair....." His sentence trailed off as his eyes followed Stabler over to a locked door to the right of the spacious kitchen. "Her roommate, a Ms. Simone Harris, occupies that side of the house. Door's locked and the landlord doesn't have a key for the added padlock."

Lifting the heavy grey lock, Elliot listened to something sounding like hushed whimpers coming from behind the door. "Why do you suppose she would lock her door from the outside? Liv, sounds like voices." Waiting for his partner to join him, he listened closer. "Doesn't sound like animals to me, sounds more like people. Where's Ms. Harris now?" Something in the continued whines of the voices inside gave Elliot more than enough curiosity to not wait for the answer. Stepping back and kicking the door open, ripping the metal locking plate from the wood door, Elliot peered inside the sunlit room and flinched at the smell of human waste emitting from four big animal cages to the far left of the room. "Call the paramedics! Get those people out of the cages."

Olivia stepped into the room and over to one of the giant dog cages that housed a naked, collared young female. "It's alright, we're police officers. We're here to help you. Can you tell us who did this to you?" She knelt down and held the lock up for the officer who took wirecutters to it. "My name is Detective Benson. Can you tell me who you are?" Olivia's heart sank further in her chest as the young, doe-eyed woman in her early 20s only huddled in the back of her cage and stared at the detective from over her bare knees. Reaching a hand in, she calmly waited for the woman to take it. Looking to her left, Olivia called for blankets but returned her attention to the cage as a thin hand slipped into hers.

~*~*~*~

Four, young and naked adults stood wrapped in warm grey blankets while detectives Benson and Stabler took their statements. Two women and two men had each told what they heard from their cages. Both women had resisted the urge to fall to their knees when Elliot had approached them. All of them hadn't glanced up and had explained that they were put in the cages as punishment.

"Punishment for what?" Stabler was confused.

The four looked at each other and then to the first young woman who had taken Olivia's hand. "Mistress Tanya puts us in cages when we mess up at the auctions." Her long blonde hair fell into her eyes and looked like it hadn't been brushed through in days. Her blue eyes filled with tears and she took a frail and shaking hand to wipe at them.

Olivia placed a hand on the blanketed shoulder and asked in a softer tone, "what kind of auction? You mean like people auction?"

Mark stood in the bedroom doorway and waved Olivia over to him. He held a collar and leash in one hand and an envelope of money in the other. Even through the latex gloves, he felt dirty of the whole situation. "I think this is what they're referring to. I busted a few patrons of the 'Pet Auctions' last month. We found these in Tanya's bedside table. There's also a ledger in a cabinet that contains names, numbers, and 'Pets'. As if being a judge wasn't paying well enough."

Olivia swallowed shallowly as an icy chill ran down her spine. "How much longer until we have the roommate?"

"Half hour, tops." Mark handed the items off to a uniform to be placed in bags and marked.

"Good. The sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we can sleep better at night." Turning back to the four still wrapped in blankets, Olivia blinked and thought about who the so-called "pets" were. "Any word on who these people are? Missing persons?"

Voorhies shook his head and glanced at the four Stabler was trying to talk to. "As far as I can tell, they're all more or less adults. If this is consensual, it makes it harder to press charges. Most likely, the judge forgot they were here before having company over and they didn't make a sound when their hostess was getting murdered. This sort of trading could put gambling out of the market, in a few short years."

Elliot had finished taking statements and had joined the other two detectives to share information. "So much for consensual. Each 'pet' has a collar and name like the one in the judge's hand. Turns out, they were sold to the judge and her roommate for 'obedience training'. The oldest male says he remembers 'Princess' from seven years ago. A young man by the name of Christopher Jakosa. Says he and Chris came here about the same time but Chris was sold a few years ago. Basically, the men are given kitty names and the women, dog names. Obvious pseudonyms for the kind of kink the judge and her friends were into."

Olivia looked past Voorhies to see the paramedics enter the apartment, and waved them over. "Get these people to the hospital and run the SAE kits. Leading the team of medics to the four and explaining to the people in blankets what was happening, Benson felt a pang of guilt as four sets of eyes gave her worried and panicked looks.

When the medics and the four 'pets' had left the apartment, Voorhies received a call on his phone that the officer with the judge's roommate was less than a block away from the scene. "Good. We'll meet the car downstairs." The homicide detective turned back to stare at Stabler and Benson before taking a deep breath and explaining what he had been told.

"I can hardly wait for this explanation." A small emotionless smile as Olivia followed Voorhies out to the front door and down the stairs.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

"How long have you known Judge George?" Elliot paced the in front of the mirror in the Interrogation Room. He and Olivia had taken Simone Harris into custody, after the officer released her from his squad car. He paused as he waited for her answer. Arms folded about his chest, Elliot took a deep breath.

Simone sat with her hands folded on the table in front of her, and her legs calmly crossed. She sat straight and stared forward as she silently counted the years in her head. "I'd say about eleven years." Her thick and soft brown hair had been pulled back into a ponytail and curled down at the bottom, just below her bra-strap. She cleared her throat and shook her head to clear it from the haze of a long flight. "Is this going to take long? I would like to get some sleep before work tomorrow." Her expression seemed to be sincere but indifferent to news that her friend/roommate/lover was dead.

Elliot stopped and sat down on the edge of the table, though his back was to Simone, he turned to face her before he asked the next question. "You want to go to work after finding out that your roommate is dead?" Something about the conversation didn't sit right with him. But then, everyone dealt different with emotions.

The younger woman simply looked at Elliot like he was a bad dream but eventually nodded and shrugged. "It's my way of dealing with something that isn't real yet." Simone Harris was only 32 but looked much older from lack of sleep and the amount of makeup she had put on while in the back of the squad car from the airport to her apartment building. Her dark eyes started turning red and feeling heavy eventhough it was the middle of the day. She was as tall as Elliot but wore heels to gain a few inches more on height. A yawn had gotten her point across much more than anything else. Covering her mouth as she was frozen in effects of yawning, she only half-heard what Elliot asked.

"Was she seeing anyone?" Elliot stood up and turned around to face her.

Simone finished her yawn and removed her hand slowly from her mouth. "Yea. Why?"

Elliot smiled softly and nodded slightly as he started pacing again. "He have a name?"

"Chris Jakosa."

"How long have you known him?"

"Not as long as I knew her. He and Tanya started datin' about three years after she took Juvenile Court gig. He split a couple of years ago."

Elliot narrowed his eyes at the answer. "Know why they broke up?"

"Nope."

"How long were you on vacation?" Pausing at the door, Elliot turned to look at her.

"Three weeks."

"Where'd you go?"

"Vancouver." Simone huffed at the continuous questions and stared at Elliot with disinterest. "Look, I have no idea what happened to Tanya but, I would like to leave and get some sleep. I do have a job to go to in the morning."

Elliot cocked his head to the side and tried to read the young woman who was growing more and more impatient. "Just one more question. Do you have any idea why there would be four large dog cages in your bedroom, with four naked people in them?" He grabbed the chair across from her and sat down, leaning forward as he finished.

Simone was becoming very impatient and tremendously uncomfortable. "I have no idea."

Frustrated from the lack of interest Simone was giving off, Elliot excused himself a moment while he checked with his captain about her release. "We can't hold her for being out of town when this happened. Ironically, she named Mr. Jakosa as being the Judge's snuggle-bunny." Elliot stood there, facing his Captain but turned his head to look at the woman in the Interrogation Room.

Olivia had been checking up on a few leads from her desk and stared at her notepad and the notes she had scribbled down as she and Fin walked over to join Elliot. "Just spoke to Warner; she says the Judge had been killed between 7 PM and 8 PM last night. I also checked with the airlines both at Kennedy and Vancouver. Miss Harris got on a plane yesterday morning at 8:30 and flew out at 9:00. Security also said that she had a two hour wait in line for the baggage countre. It takes at least that long to get across the country, and pass through Customs ontop of that. Looks like we don't have anything to hold her on unless we can place her putting the cages and people into her own bedroom."

"My buddy at Metro said that Christopher Jakosa passed through there seven years ago on a charge of D&D. Jakosa said it was a case of mistaken identity and the only reason why he was busted was that he had been drinking cold syrup before going for a joyride at 2:15 in the morning. Breathalizer pinpointed it at .04. Since he was still a minor at the time of the arrest he passed through juvenile court. And guess who the lucky judge was..." Fin opened the file folder he had carried and handed it to the Captain.

Cragen glanced over the file page that Fin had indicated and read the name of the judge. "Judge Tanya George." Looking back to Simone who, by this time, was walking around the room tensely, he sighed and turned back to Olivia and Fin. "Pay 'snuggle-bunny' a visit. Ask him where he was while his ex-flame was being assaulted. Elliot, escort Miss Harris to a hotel until we solve this. I don't want her anywhere near the scene before we release it."

\------

Benson shivered in the chilly shade of the building as she and Fin waited for someone to come to the door after they had rang the bell. "His boss said he had the day off." She turned around from the upscale looking building and spotted the vehicle that had been registered to Christopher. "That's his car. He must be here." She shivered again as she surveyed both directions of the building-crowded street.

Knocking twice on the door, Fin peered into the home via the textured glass of the front door. The curtains had been pushed aside to let the day in. They had been standing on the stoop for five minutes and were about to turn away when the door finally opened as they reached the steps down to the sidewalk.

"Can I help you?" A young male voice called to them. His hair had been wet and his body glistened from being in the shower. "Sorry I didn't hear the door but I was in the shower." Christopher stood there in bare feet and jeans, holding his long-sleeved blue dress shirt in his left hand. Shaggy and towel-dried blond hair curled at the chilled air.

Olivia turned back to see a handsome, thin, young man in the doorway and flashed her badge as she and Fin walked back to the front door. "Christopher Jakosa? I'm Detective Benson," motioning to Fin, she finished, "Detective Tutuola. May we ask you some questions?" Taking in his appearance and watching his expression change from a smile to an uncertain look, they were ushered inside the townhome.

The inside of the home had been furnished in well-crafted knock-offs from the local art gallery. Fancy rugs with Indian designs had been specifically placed on the tile floor throughout the first floor while it looked like from the stairs up, the second floor had been a creme carpetting. The home had a warmth to it that the fireplace hadn't needed to add. A small blue and red child's scooter in the shape of a firetruck had been pushed off to one side, along the wall separating the foyer from the parlor. Other than a few more child's toys, the house was spotlessly clean.

Christopher led them into the parlor to two plush navy-coloured sofas that faced each other, on either side of the fireplace. Fin and Olivia occupied one and he sat on the other. "What's this about? If this is about that vending machine incident on campus, last week, I already told the security guard what happened." Remembering his shirt, he quickly dressed and buttoned himself as he felt the chill of outside rolling off of them. His blue eyes studied the two detectives carefully before coming to the conclusion that they were there on other business.

"Did you know a Tanya George?" Olivia placed a candid picture of the judge on the glass coffee table between them and slid it over to him.

The young resident tensed and drew ragged breaths at the picture, horrified at the smiling face that peered back at him. He nodded. "Something happen to her?" Not making a move to either conceal his stunned expression or touch the photo in any way, Chris's eyes flicked up to each of the detectives and studied them. He relaxed as Fin softened his expression enough to calm the young man down.

Fin chose his words carefully. "Her landlord found her in her apartment. She was dead for some time. Mind if we ask where you were all of yesterday?"

The tone Fin had used, eventhough natural, made Chris tremble under his clothes yet he forced an answer. "I was at work until 5:30, and then I had to pick my son up from daycare at 6. It takes me a good half hour to make three miles in evening rush hour." Chris shuddered as he glanced at the picture again. "How'd she die?" Raking a hand through his damp hair, he told himself to calm down but the more he felt Tanya's eyes on him, the more nervous he became.

"Throat was cut. What about last night? Go anywhere special?" Fin clasped his hands together, resting his arms on his thighs as he leaned forward. Eventhough he was wearing his black leather jacket and warm clothing, it was still enough to make the resident suspicious in his presence.

Chris thought for a moment. Shaking his head in thought and shrugging, he answered. "I went to the market. My son, Andrew, has a cold. I went to pick up his medication and then find something for dinner. My wife had to work late so we were on our own until about 9." Copying Fin's stance but not sharing the interest, he quickly turned over the picture on the table after a moment to catch his breath. Between breaths to calm himself and watching Olivia take notes of their conversation, he stole glances of Fin's physique, from what he could see of it.

Detective Tutuola was a very well-toned man and knew how to handle himself in his gestures and voice. The bronze features beneath the clothing must have seen their share of hardened workouts and fightbacks from arrested criminals. Fin was taller than Chris by a few inches and bigger around than Chris. If body language had said anything important it was not to piss the man off.

Olivia looked up from her notes. "Were you two close?"

"Depends on what you mean by 'close.'"

Fin's nasaled voice specified. "Were you two having sex?"

Blue eyes widened at the blunt question and he turned to stare at Fin, not being able to form the words at all. Chris swallowed and felt his heartbeat pound noisily in his chest. "I wouldn't call it that." He had barely found his voice and pushed out the lowered tone when the front door opened and closed. A small boy that was wrapped warmly in his coat, matching red hat and mittens, and snowshoes trodded into the parlor and up to Chris. The young man brought himself to a smile and embraced the young bundle that had called to him from the doorway. Kissing the tiny, cold cheek and whispering to the boy to go back and get his jacket hung up, Chris stood up and quietly called to his wife in the foyer.

A small, three-foot tall boy with straight brown hair and amber eyes raced back to where Chris sat and climbed up to sit beside him on the sofa. Coughing and remembering to cover his mouth before noticing the other two people in the room, Andrew smiled and waved as Olivia smiled kindly back at him. "Is daddy in trouble?"

Chris felt uneasy but it quickly subsided as Olivia smiled again leaned in as if sharing a secret that everyone in the room was able to hear. "No, we're just asking him some questions about someone he knows. Okay?" Her answer was backed up by the mother coming into the room and whispering into the boy's ear about going upstairs to play for a bit before dinner.

"Okay!" Came the happy reply as the boy slid off of the sofa cushion and ran to the stairs, climbing them carefully.

Scooting over so that his wife could sit down on the same large cushion, Chris introduced her to the two detectives. "This is Karen, my wife. Uh, she was also apart of the Judge's warped sense of rehabilitation."

Karen, a woman who was Chris' elder by two years, was a medium height woman and also thin. Neither she or her husband had been drastically underweight but they hadn't been exactly healthy figures, either. Long, naturally curly brown hair flowed from a low ponytail and blended well with her brown knit sweater and off-white leggings. A thin face accented by thin-rimmed glasses stared equally uneasily at the two detectives. "We've done our time in Hell. Mistress Tanya and her sick friends can't touch us, now."

"Can you elaborate on that?" Olivia asked with openness.

The couple looked at each other and silently agreed to have Chris explain. "When I was busted on a false charge, I was taken to see the judge. She gave me a reduced sentence because I was going to be 18 in a few months so, I spent a week in Juvey, and the rest of my time in Community Service, doing odd things like trash duty, stuff like that. A year later, I was working at a pet store and she walked in. Bought a dog collar and food and water bowls. I didn't think anything of it until she came back a week later and asked if I wanted to have lunch with her so she could re-evaluate my situation."

"Both of us became her 'pets.' And there were others, too." Karen had chimed in when Chris paused for a breath and a downward glance in shame.

Fin shifted on the cushion. "You mean like cats and dogs?"

Both nodded.

Chris tapped the picture that remained face down on the table. "Mistress Tanya and what she put us through is the main reason we're scared to close our eyes at night. Judge or not, I'm glad she's dead."

Continued.....


	3. Chapter 3

Cragen completed the circle of detectives that sat around their desks and discussed the case. "So, we know that Christopher was at work until 5:30 and then had his son for the rest of the evening until his wife got home. Where was she yesterday?" His tan business suit had been pressed and freshened for his meeting with his superiors on the updates of the case. He found that keeping his bosses in the loop could be more of a distraction than anything on cases this intense but it was his job and he was not about to lag on any detail.

"Mrs. Jakosa was at work from noon to 9PM. She had the whole morning free, after Chris left to drop their son off with the daycare and then sort out a plan to kill the judge that gives them both alibis." Olivia stood up from her chair and came to sit on the edge of her desk, next to Elliot.

Elliot pulled out his notepad from his pocket and flipped through the pages to find the statements of Mr. Jakosa's boss in hopes of finding something to help. "I went to the bar where our boy works and had a talk to the owner. I spoke with a Mister Russell Kirsch. He mentioned that Christopher took an hour lunch at 1:30 to 2:30 and when he came back to work, Mr. Kirsch also noted that Chris was upset and shaken but was able to finish work. That could have given him ample time to get together with an accomplice and murder the Judge. His wife helped him, or another ex-pet? His work is only 15 minutes, by expressway, to where the judge lives. If he didn't do it at lunch, he still had time to start something afterwards, on his way to pick up his son at daycare."

Olivia raised an eyebrow and shook her head slightly, letting the jumble of thoughts roll around and fall into places. "What's to stop the wife from killing her? They both were prior 'pets' and she was the only one who worked late the night of the Judge's death. Not to mention, Voorhies claimed to have busted a few patrons of the auctions last month. Maybe one of the ex-pets came back after a patron pushed the wrong buttons?"

"If the 'ex-pets' are out on their own, they might not have stayed in New York. It's possible they've changed their names, appearances, anything to discourage memories of what they'd been through." Cragen shoved his hands into his pants pockets and agreed with Olivia but something didn't sit right with the whole investigation. "If Christopher and his wife were afraid of the Judge, it might not be possible for either of them to overpower her and mame their former keeper. Elliot, you and Olivia talk to Chris again and find out what went on during his day that made him so upset. If he was holding anything back when his wife and child showed up, I want to know why. Munch, you and Fin talk to the other 'pets' and find out how many and who these 'owners' were that attended the auctions. If it wasn't the Jakosas, maybe it's in the list of names."

\------

Mercy General Hospital

Yonkers, NY

Room 202

Fin and Munch stood in the middle of the room, at the end of the bed that the pet "Whiskers" occupied. Fin opened his small notepad to take notes but as be began to write her information down, he looked up and met her scared expression. "Can you tell us your name?" His nasally voice was unalarmingly soft as he fought back his coplike attitude.

"Whiskers." Long blonde hair had been cleaned and left to dangle over her shoulders as it dried. Her thin features and pale complexion gave her hospital gown competition for colour. Huge blue eyes watched the two men like a cat at night. The young woman blinked and cringed as Munch took a step towards the side of the bed but didn't say anything yet. She kept her eyes focused on Fin, looking him up and down, noticing his musculature and tone, the same way Christopher had. She wanted to speak again but it had been drilled into her not to speak unless spoken to.

This time, Munch spoke softly, matching Fin's tone. "You can tell us your real name. We aren't going to tell anyone that doesn't need to know."

The girl managed to tear her eyes away from Fin's torso to look up at Munch and answer, "Julie. Julie Spearling." Eyes darting back and forth from one detective to the other, she watched what Fin was writing, eventhough she couldn't see the words from her angle.

"How long have you been at Judge George's apartment?" If Fin felt uncomfortable at all by being stared at like an abuser, he didn't show it outwardly. Inwardly, he was starting to see what kind of a hold the late judge had on the few "pets" they had talked to throughout the day. When he looked up from his writing, as she hadn't answered, he saw the terror of his question and secretly, his heart sank and anger swept quickly in. He was angry not from the unanswered question but from the state of panic each hospitalised pet had been in after hearing about anything that had to do with where they had been kept.

Julie's breathing became labored and her heart rate went up several degrees though she kept her eyes focused only on Fin's expression. "This time will be about four months." Wiping a shaky hand at her tears, she wanted this to be over and for the detectives to leave her alone.

"What do you mean, this time?" Munch watched her carefully.

"It's my fourth time. My master dumped me there for 'training' because I had put on his bathrobe. I was cold." Julie hadn't moved to make eye contact but merely dropped her gaze from Fin to her blanket, pulling it up close to her chin. She blushed and nodded as she was asked if she had been forced to live naked.

Fin wrote down what she said, in his notebook, and had only a few more questions before ushering Munch out of the room. "How long have you been in captivity?" His voice was harsher with the question but still gentle and low, remembering that she was a victim.

"Five and a half years."

"Ever meet Chris Jakosa or Karen?"

Julie nodded and lifted her eyes back to Fin. "He stepped in and saved my life, one day."

Munch sounded interested. "How'd he do that?"

She smiled and quickly recalled that day in detail. "When I was new, Chris explained to me what we were allowed to do and not allowed to do. We had to crawl around, on our hands and knees, like animals. She had tile floors in some rooms, and they would hurt my knees. I stood up for a bit and she walked in the door and caught me. She was livid. Chris spoke out of turn and said it was his idea. And that he wasn't sorry."

Fin listened intently. "What did she say?"

Julie shook her head. "Not what she said, what she did." Downcasting her eyes to her blanket, she continued with her story. "She had this level of punishments. She would paddle you if you made the smallest mistake on something. Or, she would ask Mistress Simone to help 'retrain' the pets when they didn't appreciate their masters and were brought back. But, Mistress Tanya loved to torture Chris." Pausing and shuddering, Julie took a ragged breath. "She had this dog, a big dog, that she loved to use to remind us of our place. That day, she decided to use him."

"So, Chris was her prized possession and he got up the nerve to say something?" John Munch couldn't believe was he was hearing. All of his conspiracy theories seemed to string together at times but this subject he couldn't piece together.

"Not the first time. He hated to watch the others get punished like that."

Still writing in the notepad, Fin looked up from the paper. "How'd she use the dog?"

Taking a long breath, Julie started to shake visibly but forced out the climax of the story. "If a pet was bad, she would bend them over a footstool and have the rest of us watch while Husband did-- um,..." the humiliation and blushing in her expression spoke volumes and finished the story with a bad taste in both Fin and John's mouths. Drawing her legs up close to her and wrapping her arms around them protectively, Julie didn't dare look up at their faces to see if she had disgusted them.

They thanked her and left quietly but their minds had wanted to say volumes that were better left for their ears only. It wasn't that people were being treated like animals that bothered the two well-seasoned detectives but, that the people were being told they were animals. For sex crimes detectives who have practically seen and heard it all, today was the day that left them both speechless.

Munch had thought of at least 50 theories why someone would name their animal something that didn't make sense but he was having trouble figuring out why the judge named her dog, "Husband." Better yet, where was the dog now? "From what it sounds like, Chris is either in on it or that's what gets him off, is playing 'big dog' to the understudies." He spoke his thought over the roof of the blue sedan as he opened the driver's side door.

As Fin opened the passenger door, he shrugged and asked the other side of the coin on what he was thinking all the way down to the car. "Why would a guy let his girlfriend treat him like an animal and then bring others into it? That's some dangerous kink if you gotta fuck a dog just to get your girlfriend off." Both getting in and shutting the doors, they headed back to the precinct.

"Maybe he liked it, too."

\---------

SVU Interrogation Room 2

Chris Jakosa

Elliot paced the length of the room with his arms folded on his chest. "How long were you and the judge an item?"

"About two years." Chris sat shivering in the padded metal chair. He watched Elliot's movements, heart quickening everytime Elliot stopped to hear the answer. Still wearing his work shirt and pants, he glanced down at himself and felt uncomfortable in them.

"That's when you two decided to get into the kink, right?"

"No."

Elliot stopped in front of Chris and leaned forward to place his hands on the table that sat between them. "So, whose idea was it to run around and act like dogs and cats? Would a brand new judge really think of that on her own?" Staring at Chris's expression, he looked deeper and saw total fear in the other's eyes.

Chris shook his head as he spoke. "It was all her. I wanted to split when she told me what she was into. She kept me there, locked me in her closet until I swore I wouldn't run. The next thing I know, she's bringing home two more people."

Straightening, Elliot started again with walking around the room while talking. "It was her idea for the kink and other people?"

"Yes."

A knock on the glass interrupted Elliot's next question. He excused himself to talk to Fin and Captain Cragen, who were listening via the speaker.

Fin read off a few of the statements from the other pets that he and Munch had interviewed, repeating a few facts that put Chris in a positive light. "Julie or 'Whiskers' went as far as to describe in detail what the judge would do to her prized 'Princess' when he would take the blame for the others. There's cruelty to animals but this lady was sick. The dog's name was 'Husband.' Munch is hunting down just where he ended up."

As Fin finished speaking, Munch joined them at the window and shared what he had found out about the missing Great Dane. "Just got off the phone with Waste Management. It appears that one of their trucks came across the body of a large black and white dog with a plastic bag over its head. Multiple stab wounds to the body and the collar, although covered in blood, said one word, 'Husband.' Whoever killed the judge and the dog has major issues to deal with." John glanced through the window at the trembling young man in the chair before turning back to give the last update. "Forensics is bringing the body back for an autopsy. When dogs and cats are living together in sin, it gives way to raised eyebrows but when people and dogs are getting hitched, there's room to be appalled."

Cragen swallowed dryly. "Get everything out of him. If he doesn't cooperate, we have grounds to hold him for possible accessory to human trafficing." He looked from Elliot back to the man in the room and prayed he was wrong in his suspicions.

"If this isn't an act, then we've just destroyed this young man for no reason." Elliot kept his eyes on Chris, watching his trembling and jerky movements as he still sat at the table.

Fin narrowed his eyes in thought. "Let me ask him. He was sizing me up, yesterday. Maybe that'll gain us some ground." Walking to the door and opening it, he entered and let the door shut behind him with a firm close. To his advantage, he had been right in thinking that Chris' fear of him was in body language. He remained straight-faced as the young man jumped off of his chair and scoot back to the corner to cringe in terror.

Blue eyes stared widely at Fin as the self-assured detective sat down in the chair, with his back to the window. A shiver raced through him as the detective tapped a finger on the table and stared at Chris with a serious tone. Chris was afraid to move from the corner.

"Sit." Fin's firm tone had done what he wanted it to do. "Now."

Chris had obeyed the man and sat down in the chair, shaking visibly. His breathing had become considerably laboured since the detective came into the room.

"What kind of relationship did you have with the Judge?" Expressionless and toneless, Fin kept his gaze fairly on Chris.

With a deep breath and audible release, Chris calmed himself before answering. "It started out as fine. Then, it got weird."

"You start it?"

Chris shook his head. "No."

Fin folded his hands on the table. "After she laid down the rules, what happened?"

"She started bringing people home every night. Sometimes they'd be other pets, sometimes not." Chris gripped the sides of the chair and desperately tried not to shake in front of the detective. He began to sweat in the cool cement room, wondering if he would walk out of it alive.

Nodding, Fin continued. "So, she'd bring clients home? Know who they were?"

A nod. "A few."

"Can you name them?"

Another nod.

"What were they there for, exactly?" Fin's interest peaked and he leaned in, making the young blond plaster his back against the metal backing of the chair.

"Sex." Chris's voice had flattened as he said the word. "Mistress Tanya and Mistress Simone would acquire pets to train and then show off before they'd have an auction. They'd punish us, make us have sex with other pets- like animals, or we would have to give demonstrations to prospective masters." His eyes involuntarily traveled down to Fin's chest and arms as his white dress shirt barely concealed his muscles.

Fin noticed the eyes on him. "Did you ever go home with any of them?"

"No." A nervous shake of the head. "I was Mistress Tanya's. Often the demonstrator."

Opening his mouth to ask another question, Fin paused as the door opened and an older woman in a business dress suit entered and told Chris not to saying anything else.

She was a short woman of medium build and could easily carry her firmness. Short brown, curly hair and thin-rimmed glasses had silently said that she meant business. "I'm Charlene Harrod and I am Mr. Jakosa's attourney. This conversation is violating my client's right for counsel and therefore, he does not have to say anything further."

Fin leaned back in his chair and looked at the woman. "We're just having a chat. He didn't ask for a lawyer."

"I am aware of what goes on in an interrogation room, detective. His family was notified of his being brought down here and therefore, they called me. He's been through a traumatic experience recently and that does not entitle you to harrass him. Chris, come with me, please." Chris looked at Fin and then stood up to walk out of the room with Ms. Harrod in tow.

Fin followed them out but stopped in the doorway as the captain and Elliot met him. "What do we do, now? He knows who was at those parties but wouldn't say."

Captain Cragen watched Chris and his lawyer leave the squadroom as he thought. "Bring back Miss Harris. She neglected to mention that she was in on what the judge was doing. Let's hear what she has to say."

Continued.....


	4. Chapter 4

Interrogation Room 1

Simone Harris

5:15 PM

"What kind of kink do you like?" Elliot had just shut the door behind him when he decided to open with the middle of the conversation. Slapping the file on Simone Harris down on the metal table between them, he sat down across from her.

Simone looked surprised. Her eyes widened as she shot back in her chair. "What?! Is this how cops open a chummy discussion?" Her eyes blinked back at him. She sat sideways on the chair, twirling a lock of heavily sprayed permed hair between two fingers of her right hand. "Where do you get off asking me that kind of question?"

Elliot narrowed his eyes, sizing her. "Christopher Jakosa. He says you and Tanya kept he and a few others there, against their will, to feed your strange inhibitions. When we fist talked to you, you said you didn't know anything about the people in cages, in Tanya's room. Now," he slid forward on the seat and leaned in, over the table, "that sounds like a lie to me. And, I don't know about you, but I hate being lied to."

"Fine. Tanya brought Chris home, one night, like a puppy on a string. He was so 'head-over-heels' for her that he would do anything for her. But, I didn't kill Tanya. I have no idea who did but my money is on Chris and his bitch." Simone snapped her reply, growing impatient from the series of random questions she felt harassed with. "It was consensual. If that's what you're asking. All they had to do was say 'no' and we'd-"

Elliot stood up but didn't move from his spot. "You'd what? Put them in cages until they changed their minds? Spank them like 'naughty puppies', or make them bend over a foot stool and take it from a dog until they recanted?" Placing his hands flatly on the table, Elliot leaned in again and clarified, "because that's how we found the four victims, in Tanya's bedroom."

"I didn't put them there!"

"What were you doing in Vancouver?"

"Vacation."

Elliot straightened and scooped up the thin file folder, on the table beside him, and opened it to the third page, on the left side. Stapled in place had been five pages of Simones "vacation" stops. "Vacation. What is it you do for work, again?"

Simone ran the tip of her tongue over her top front teeth before answering. "Paralegal. It's a draining job, especially in New York."

"You should try being a cop, sometime." He went back to reading her rap sheets as they met eyes, briefly. "So, you and Chris ever date?"

Simone bite her lower lip. "Nope. I don't date fleabag lovers. Where is this going?"

"Fleabag lover? You mean Chris actually wanted to have a dog penetrate him? Did he ever want to top the dog? It sounds like someone was more interested in that twosome than Chris. And I really don't think the dog spoke up and asked for Chris, personally. Do you?" Elliot found a spark of contempt and decided to explore his options of how far Simone had been mixed in to what Tanya had going.

Leveling her gaze, the right side of her mouth raised in smugness. "What if I told you, Chris begged for it? Does that make you hard? Did you wanna watch?"

Slapping the file down, on the table, in front of her, he read off a small list of places she had frequented in the recent five month span. "Manchester, New Hampshire; Los Angeles, California; Vancouver, British Columbia. That's a lot of vacations in only five months. And, it's funny, on two of those trips, you came home with at least one other person in tow. What were they? Clients? New 'pets'? You helped Tanya get her side business up and running and when she needed more clientele, you were right there, to bring in more. Weren't you?"

Turning in her chair to face forward, Simone smiled and folded her arms. "Lawyer. Now."

 

SVU Squadroom

5:33 PM

Olivia stared at the faces and names of all of their known suspects, that had been taped up to the clearboard, and wondered to herself about the puzzle that had been completely jumbled from start to finish. "What was the final straw that drove them to the brink of murder? I feel like we're missing a piece." Her voice asked aloud to herself but she startled as another voice, masculine and softer, answered her.

"It could have been a former, or new, pet that had enough so they revolted. Or, it could have been an accomplice that became excited from the torture of sex slaves and simply took it too far. It's too early to tell from what we have now." Dr. Huang stood a few steps behind her and looked over the faces on the board as he answered her. His sight focused on the 8x10" glossy of Chris Jakosa as he finished his statement. His arms crossed but his posture relaxed to refocus on Olivia, who now turned around to look at him.

Taking a deep breath, Olivia glanced over her shoulder at the pictures of the Jakosas and then back to the psychiatrist. "Chris had motive to kill the judge from being used as the demonstrator in her 'pet schooling.' Both Chris and his wife, Karen, were long term captives, who were free to roam around the house while the judge and Ms. Harris were not at home. The other four new 'pets' spoke about Chris as if he were a saint but aren't saying anymore than that. There's something missing to all of that." Her hands were slipped into her pants pockets as she went over the clues in her mind.

Captain Cragen came to stand beside Huang and offer his small bit of new information that he had gotten from his friend at Juvenile Detention. "I talked with the detective, then officer, who busted Jakosa on the drunk driving charges and it seems that his mother tipped off the police that her son was driving under the influence. He must have done something unforgivable to her that she didn't bail him out after the hearing. I think there's more pieces we can fit into that small but growing puzzle." Leaning on the edge of Munch's desk, he was the first one to notice that Dr. Warner had joined them in the squadroom.

"I may have a piece you're looking for, then." Dr. Warner, the Medical Examiner, spoke up as she held out a file for Olivia while stepping forward to greet them in the small circle. "The fluid left in the glass was not meant for oral consumption; at least, not in that amount. The fluid found in the champagne glass was semen. I found the same seminal fluid, in smaller amounts, in the judge's stomach contents. The sample does not belong to any of the four individuals that were in the cages but, I did manage to match the sample to a tuft of hair Forensics gathered from the judge's home. It was matched to-"

"Christopher Jakosa." Olivia lit up with the revelation as she read the words in the report Warner had handed her. "His collar was found in the judge's hand. Maybe he went over there to confront her and it got out of hand?"

Dr. Huang looked over the pictures on the board again and gave a possible scenario. "Victims very rarely want to make friends with their captors. However, it is possible that he might have gone over to negotiate release of the other sex slaves. In return, he might have participated in sexual intercourse with her, the way she preferred it."

"She must have ripped the collar off of him in the struggle of killing her. But, there were no markings on his neck when Fin and I went to talk to him, yesterday." Olivia offered.

Warner shook her head. "The dead bull snake that was inserted in her vaginal cavity was drowned in bleach after it was crushed to death by something heavy. The exoskeleton was completely obliterated in several places. The bullwhip handle that was fully inserted in her anus was clean of any prints, as well as the straps on the ball-gag in her mouth. You're looking at a two-man job."

Clearing his throat and folding his arms about his chest, Cragen glanced over the report Olivia had passed him before making a call to have Olivia talk to Chris' mother. "Find out why she turned her own son in and see if she knows anything about the judge being dead."

Olivia nodded and grabbed her jacket from the back of her chair on her way out.

~~~~~

Manhattan Gardens Apartments

3206

Home of Emily Jakosa, MD

 

The honey-coloured wood flooring creeked Olivia followed the woman of 65 through the entryway and into the large, warm family room. A white, light wool throw blanket had been "tossed" over the back of a tan two-place loveseat that Olivia now sat on. "Lovely home, Dr. Jakosa." Olivia looked around the meticulous room, bright and shiny as if she had just had it professionally cleaned.

"Thank you, dear." Dr. Jakosa sat down in a white linen easy chair, across from Olivia, and placed her thick, dark oak cane between her legs to steady herself on as she leaned forward on it. Her greying hair was neatly trimmed short but long enough to have a natural curl about it. "My son usually comes over to help me clean, when he isn't taking care of my grandchild. But, I doubt that's what you are hear to talk about, Detective Benson." She was a no-nonsense woman who approached things with a serious side and preferred to get all the facts before jumping to a conclusion; however, this time, she had gotten the story surrounding Chris from his lawyer she had hired for him. "I understand you are looking at my son as if he were an 'animal' yet, you do not want to see him for what he is. Is that true?"

Olivia crossed her legs and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her right knee. She thought about how to present the evidence that had stacked up to claim Chris as the guilty party. "Dr. Jakosa,--"

"Emily, please. With my diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, I was forced to retire before I wanted to. Chris and I have talked about how I should be addressed, once it sinks in." Dr. Jakosa smiled and squared her shoulders as if stoning herself against any harsh words that might have been thrown at her. Though her posture was relaxed but straight, her attire had been pressed and professional as if she expected to leave for work when Olivia rang the doorbell.

Olivia smiled pleasantly and nodded, reassuringly. "Emily. The judge that presided over Chris' drunk and disorderly case, seven years ago, was found dead in her apartment, last night. Everything, as it stands, points to Chris as the suspect. I'm not here to tell you if he is guilty or innocent, I'm just here to ask you what lead you to call the police on him and then refuse to bail him out?" Her tone was even and friendly but she hadn't forgotten the reason she was there.

Dr. Jakosa sat back and smiled as she turned to look at a picture of Chris and his family. A black and white photo in a simple honeywood frame, sitting high on the bookcase that framed a complete wall, behind her. "Chris was a good boy, when he was little. His father died of pancreatic cancer when he was 13. I tried the best I could with what I had and I guess that was how I lost control. What a parent does to discipline their child always hurts more than the punishment. I left him in jail so he would straighten up. However, that left him in more trouble than was needed."

"How often does Chris come over? Does he bring his family with him, often?"

Dr. Jakosa looked back at Olivia and sighed inwardly, thinking. "He's supposed to be here in a little while but, he's been coming every few weeks. He usually brings his little boy, Andy, and he and I watch cartoons while Chris and Karen clean my house for me."

"Chris and Karen clean your apartment? You don't have a maid service?" Olivia wasn't confused but instead wanted to be sure she understood the former doctor, a woman who still had the money to finance a weekly maid service to clean for her.

The doctor smiled again. "Chris didn't think I should spend the money to have someone come in. Karen was the one to offer to have them clean while I spent time with my grandchild."

"So, it was unanymous to have Chris and Karen clean for you?" Olivia tilted her head to better observe the woman's answer. Just then, her cell phone rang from her left coat pocket.

"Yes." The doctor sat back and waited as Olivia retrieved her cell phone and answered it.

~~~~~

Mercy Hospital

Room 128

Christopher Jakosa

Heart monitors beeped and buzzed while breathing machines patted a rhythm of air into the unconscious man. Both of his wrists had been banadaged, indicating he had slit his wrists. Christopher Jakosa lay in a hospital room, his head turned to his right, facing where Karen now stood. The young man, once vibrant and astute was now lying fragile and unresponsive on the bed of white linen. He looked pale and distressed about something. He had been brought in with very slow responses and ragged breathing.

The doctors had finished their testings and hooking him up to monitors and taking vitals before quietly exiting the room.

Karen let a hand slip to a lock of hair and stroked it, staring at her husband's face in numb shock. "I came home, early, from work. I wanted to talk to him. Andy is in daycare so, we could have a few hours to ourselves. He was lying on the bathroom floor." Her voice was calm, almost monotonous. Her stare remained on Chris's sleeping face.

"How long were you apart of Judge George's prisoners? How did you two get free?" Olivia asked quietly. She came to stand beside Karen as Fin stood on the other side of the bed, observing Karen's reaction.

Karen took a shallow breath, eyes never leaving his sleeping face. "I was brought to Tanya by my pimp. He told Tanya he wanted me 'reconfigured' for women. I had been a runaway prostitute and he had trouble controlling me for his certain clientel. A week after I was dropped off, the pimp met the wrong end of a gang war. He lost his turf, his girls and his life." She paused to swallow the anger she felt towards Tanya and Simone.

Olivia observed Karen's posture. "How did you two break free?"

After a long pause and forcing back tears, Karen calmed herself and answered, still focusing on Chris's face. "I'd been there for about two years, made it through numerous auctions, until one master bought me. He was an older gentleman, very wealthy and had alot of powerful friends. He wanted me for a playmate. Eight months later, he had a heart attack and left me a ton of money, in his will. A month after that, I bought Chris right out from under Tanya."

"I bet Tanya wasn't too happy about that." Olivia kept her voice low.

Karen shook her head. "She put up a fight. She even hired a few ringers to outbid me. But, uh, I was extremely loaded. Eventually, Tanya folded." After taking a few breaths and finally looking up and over at Olivia, she swallowed and added, "Look, I didn't have to come back for Chris. I was outta there. I could have just taken the money and ran."

Fin shifted and put his hands on the railing, on his side of the bed. "So, why didn't you bring the curtain down on Tanya's little game?"

Before Karen could answer, the monitors Chris was hooked up to, started beeping and flashing warning signs, letting the nurses know he was in distress. The three of them were ushered out of the room and Fin and Olivia took the hint to escort Karen back to the precinct.

 

SVU Interrogation Room 1

Karen Jakosa

 

Karen sighed and ran a shakey hand through her hair. Fin sat across from her and it was making Karen uncomfortable. "If I'm not under arrest, why am I here?" She briefly made eye contact with the detective across from her. Leaning forward with her elbows on the cold metal table, Karen stared down, at the barely visible reflection of herself. She felt guilty but wasn't sure what for.

"We have evidence that puts your husband as the last one to see the judge alive." Fin's nasaled voice broke the awkward silence but didn't lighten the tensioned air in the room.

Shaking her head, Karen dropped her arms and sat back in her chair. "We haven't seen her or been anywhere near her condo in years." Her tone raised slightly as her hands shook more noticeably.

The thin manilla folder, resting on the table, under Fin's left arm, was remembered and opened to reveal several portrait size photos of the four "pets" left locked in the dead judge's bedroom. "Know any of these people?" Fin glanced down at the photos as he spread them on the table and then looked up to see Karen's reaction as the woman looked them over. His face was cold, almost stone as he observed Karen's expressions.

"A few." Karen's eyes fell on the woman named "Whiskers." A deep breath as she lift her head up to stare at a space on the ceiling. A cold shiver shook her right shoulder. The memories came flooding back and she closed her eyes, in attempt to shut them in the dark. "Whisk-- Julie was younger than I was, the first time she was brought to Tanya's. She made so many mistakes and Tanya enjoyed beating her senseless."

Fin sat back. "What were the levels of punishments?"

Karen stood up. She wanted to walk away from the conversation but her knees almost gave out when she tried to stand up. "First offense was the paddle, second offense was humiliation, third.... uh,.... third was the closet, fourth was retraining and fifth was..... was.... 'Husband.'" She felt like her whole insides were on revolt and would jump out of her throat if she opened her mouth again.

"Did Tanya prefer using 'Husband' instead of the other punishments?"

Karen nodded. She felt sick and didn't want to attempt to speak until the feeling of nausea went away.

"Did Chris ever enjoy being the whipping boy?" Fin knew his question would touch a nerve but wasn't expecting the way Karen would answer.

Shaking her head, Karen took a deep breath and released it slowly, through her mouth. "Chris didn't enjoy any part of her sick plans. Some of those were minors and instead of them having to go through it, Chris took the blame. Simone hated Chris and put him through Hell. She would beat him until he couldn't even stand on his own, bound and gagged him and locked him in a closet for days, refused to let him help the others, when it came time for the auctions. But, Tanya, she would always force him to bend over for Husband, whether he did something wrong or not."

"What kind of mentality did the dog have? How did they treat Husband?" Fin sat back in his chair and little by little denied the waves that washed over him, were making him ill. "Dogs don't normally have this affliction to screw people. Did they do something to him? Give him something in his kibble?"

Karen shook her head and could feel her stomach rising into her throat with every question about the dog. "Peanut butter." A hand flew to her mouth as she held back the vomit that threatened release. Before she could clarify her answer, a knock on the glass, behind Fin, prevented her from letting her thoughts overpower her.

Fin stood and made his way over to the door. Closing it behind him, Captain Cragen turned to meet his gaze.

"Doctors say Chris is stable. He's resting but under heavy observation. Anything useful from his wife?" Cragen had been watching them through the window and decided she needed a break before she completely closed in on a nervous breakdown.

Sighing and shaking his head, Fin was skeptical of getting a positive outcome from the shaken woman. "She said that Simone hated Chris and would torture him, more than what Tanya did. The dog was Tanya's idea, though." Fin looked through the glass at Karen. "These people have been through Hell, Captain. The Jakosa's had their own, brand new life. If they killed Tanya, why didn't they free the pets in the bedroom? They could have just brought Tanya and Simone down long ago. Why kill Tanya now?"

"Why don't we let her calm down and see what we can get. Start with the news about her husband."

When Fin returned to Karen, he offered her a cup of water. His demeanour had changed and so had hers. "The doctor says Chris is resting and doing much better. They're keeping him a few days for observation." He sat down in the chair across from her and waited for her to take a few sips before redirecting his questions. "Why did you stay in New York, after you and Chris got away from Tanya? Weren't you afraid of their retaliation?"

"I- I wanted to but, Chris wouldn't leave his mother. He said that she would be lost without him and that he owed her." Karen held the plastic cup in her hands, staring at the rim closest to her.

Fin raised an eyebrow. "Owed her for what?"

Karen shrugged. "He never said."

 

TBC.


End file.
